Why Microsoft's approach to data centers won't work

2. Containers are not as plug-and-play as they seem

Servers normally get shipped from factory to customer in big cardboard boxes, protected by copious Styrofoam. Setting them up on vibration-prone racks before they travel cross-country by truck is a recipe for broken servers, argues Mark Svenkeson, president of Hypertect, a builder of data centers. At the very least, "verifying the functionality of these systems when they arrive is going to be a huge issue."

But damaged servers haven't been a problem, claimed Manos, since Microsoft began deploying containers at its data centers a year ago.

"Out of tens of deployments, the most servers we've had come DOA is two," he said. Manos also downplayed the labor of testing and verifying each server. "We can know pretty quick if the boxes are up and running with a minimum of people," he said.

He also pointed out that Microsoft plans to make its suppliers liable for any transit-related damage.

So let's say Microsoft really has solved this issue of transporting server-filled containers. But part of what makes the containers so plug-and-play is that they will, more or less, sport a single plug from the container to the "wall" for power, cooling, networking and so forth.

But, Svenkeson pointed out, that also means that an accident such as a kicked cord or severed cable would result in the failure of several thousand servers, not several dozen. It's like those server rooms that go dark because somebody flicks the uncovered emergency "off" switch out of curiosity or spite.

"If you're plugging all of the communications and power into a container at one point, then you've just identified two single points of failure in the system," Svenkeson said.

While Manos conceded the general point, he also argued that a lot "depends on how you architect the infrastructure inside the container."

Outside the container, Microsoft is locating services worldwide -- similar to Google's infrastructure -- in order to make them redundant in case of failure. In other words, users accessing a hosted Microsoft application, including Hotmail, Dynamics CRM or Windows Live, may connect to any of the company's data centers worldwide.

That means that "even if I lose a whole data center, I've still got nine others," Manos said. "So I'll just be at 90 per cent serving capacity, not down hard."

Microsoft is so confident its plan will work that it's installing diesel generators in Chicago to provide enough electricity to back up only some, not all, of its servers.

Few data centers dare to make that choice, said Jeff Biggs, senior vice president of operations and engineering for data center operator Peak 10, despite the average North American power uptime of 99.98 per cent.

"That works out to be about 17 seconds a day," said Biggs, who oversees 12 data centers in southeastern states. "The problem is that you don't get to pick those 17 seconds."